Water Consumption (Coffee & Tea?)

CaptainJim157

Hello, this sounds really stupid, but for your 8 cups of water a day, does coffee or tea count as a cup? (or however much you have?)
I've had 5 cups of coffee today, (decaf, don't worry!) :P But would that count as 5 cups of water? or no?
Again, sorry for the stupid question, I've been wondering this for a while though

Naomi91

Not stupid question at all!

But nope, they do not count. You are supposed to have just 8 cups of plain ol water. Even those little water flavoring packets dont count

The reason: We need to drink that water to keep us hydrated, but all that extra stuff just dehydrates us little by little

So switch out for some plain water :]

CaptainJim157

Ah okies! Thanks, then I've had 3 cups of plain water so far today :P

Naomi91

No problem! Still doing good though

Out of curiousity, what kind of tea are you drinking? :]

CaptainJim157

Well, I have an anxiety disorder, so my tea and coffee are always decaf, but I get Twinings Decaf English Breakfast tea it!

Naomi91

Ooh that sounds good! I also drink decaf or i end up bouncing off the walls hehe

I have recently found a few AMAZING teas

My favorite brand is Celestial Seasonings, they make so many great flavors
My favorites:
Decaf mint tea
Apple cinnamon
pumpkin spice

and I just got this new "get lost tea" with added cinnamon for wieght loss and craving control... so good!

eillamarie

For every serving of caffeine you need to drink another cup of water. Therefor I don't count tea of coffee if it has caffeine in my water tally.

Alexis2255

I probably wouldn't count it since caffeine tends to dehydrate. There is no sub for good old fashioned H2O!

Mindful_Trent

Actually this is a hotly debated topic. Many people (myself included) think that coffee and tea DO count as water consumption. The reason people say that coffee and tea don't count is that they have caffeine in them, and many people say that caffeine is a diuretic. This is only partially true- it can have a diuretic effect, but only if you drink quite a bit in a day. According to the article I cite below, that limit is 500-600mg of caffeine, which is 4-7 cups depending on the type of coffee and size of cup. For tea, it's MUCH more than that, because tea has even less caffeine.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

In my opinion, as long as you're not downing coffee ALL day, you should be fine - I'd count it in my total as long as it's only a few cups. I don't worry about tea since I don't drink that much of it and the caffeine content is even lower.

In reality, the 8 cups of water a day is a generalization that isn't a hard and fast rule. If you're eating lots of water-rich fruits and veggies, then your water needs will be even lower. Water consumed through food counts too. You may need more than 8 cups a day if you you exercise freqnetly and live in a dry, high alititude climate (both factor increase how much water you need to consume). You have to look at your life and determine what your water needs really are. Go by what your body tells you - is your skin/hair healthy, is your urine a good color (very pale yellow, doesn't need to be clear), are you having headaches, do you frequently get thirsty?

Mindful_Trent

For every serving of caffeine you need to drink another cup of water. Therefor I don't count tea of coffee if it has caffeine in my water tally.

That's not true - the caffeine in coffee doesn't cause you to lose additional fluid from your body. At worst, you wouldn't get the benefit of the entire cup of water in your coffee, but you wouldn't have negative water consumption if you just drank a cup of coffee. See the link I posted regarding caffeine being a diuretic.

Caffeine has its drawbacks, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be.

AnnaPixie

In reality, the 8 cups of water a day is a generalization that isn't a hard and fast rule. If you're eating lots of water-rich fruits and veggies, then your water needs will be even lower. Water consumed through food counts too. You may need more than 8 cups a day if you you exercise freqnetly and live in a dry, high alititude climate (both factor increase how much water you need to consume). You have to look at your life and determine what your water needs really are. Go by what your body tells you - is your skin/hair healthy, is your urine a good color (very pale yellow, doesn't need to be clear), are you having headaches, do you frequently get thirsty?

I agree with accountant boi :bigsmile:

Think of it this way, water is water wether or not it is mixed with coffee or tea or sprite or cucumber! It doesnt change its molecular structure just because it's mixed. It will still separate and your body will use the H2O aspect in exactly the same way as plain H2O.

Google it hun :flowerforyou: plenty of articles in the net to refute the plain water claims :bigsmile:

LadyPersia

I count water only in the intake area
Green tea and coffee I add to my food log
The only good part is the calories are none for most teas...coffee depends on the brands and additives.

CaptainJim157

Well, my coffee and tea is always decaf, so I might get 10 mg of caffeine a day, from my drinks anyways,
I guess I'll just leave it as not counting unless it's plain water, (or lemon water, etc)

edorice

Since I count my consumption of Crystal Light as water I also count my Lipton Green Tea. i don't drink coffee.

LilynEdensmom

I don't count coffee.

...but I do count my crystal light water, mostly b/c I have a liter bottle and will use one packet for the entire liter. I don't like the taste of plain water and can't drink it by itself, so to me to drink water I have to add something.

TrainingWithTonya

According to one of my nutrition professors, you don't have to drink water at all because you can get what the body needs through foods as we only need 1 ml per kcal we consume. But, he also says that it is better to add additional water if you are losing some through sweat and such during the day. He also goes by the research that caffeine doesn't negate water intake so you can count soft drinks and coffee, too, toward the amount you need. According to what he's teaching us in class, cool flavored water is best for replenishing water lost during exercise. He actually recommends 3 parts water to 1 part sugar for best absorption and replenishment of glycogen after exercise.

Personally, I count tea but not soft drinks and I don't drink coffee but I wouldn't count it either. I know soft drinks are sweetened much more then his recommendation and I would have to sweeten coffee much more then his recommendation to be able to choke it down, so that is why I don't count it. LOL But tea I like lightly sweetened, usually with honey, so I figure it is okay to count.

Sweet13_Princess

As stated above, this is a hotly debated topic. I, however, count coffee and tea towards my eight glasses. Mainly because I'm NOT a huge water drinker, so I'd never get it otherwise! Once I'm getting my eight glasses that way, I'm going to try to wean myself off of counting the coffee and tea.

Shannon

eillamarie

For every serving of caffeine you need to drink another cup of water. Therefor I don't count tea of coffee if it has caffeine in my water tally.

That's not true - the caffeine in coffee doesn't cause you to lose additional fluid from your body. At worst, you wouldn't get the benefit of the entire cup of water in your coffee, but you wouldn't have negative water consumption if you just drank a cup of coffee. See the link I posted regarding caffeine being a diuretic.

Caffeine has its drawbacks, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be.

I guess I worded that poorly. I didn't mean that it counts as negative, I just meant that it's not a full glass or water, it doesn't really count. So if you're counting each cup of caffeine as a cup of water you're not actually getting all the water you say you are.